Fowl singeing system

ABSTRACT

The specification discloses a fowl singeing system including first and second housings disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackle system. A blast of ambient air is directed upon the fowl during passage through the first housing. A plurality of gas nozzles are supported on opposite sides of the second housing and are connected to a source of flammable gas in order to direct jets of flame therefrom upon ignition. A plurality of gas nozzles are spaced apart along a line slanted to the horizontal, wherein jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of each fowl transported through the second housing. The ends of the gas jet nozzles are laterally spaced at varying distances from the second housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowls being transported therepast.

[ Nov. 28, 1972 Primary Examiner-Lucie H. Laudenslager AttorneyRichards, Harris & Hubbard [54] FOWL SINGEING SYSTEM [72] Inventor:

Janus J. Dillon, Irving, Tex.

73 Assignee:

22 Filed:

ABSTRACT Food Equipment, Inc., Dallas, Tex.

Jan. 13, 1971 The specification discloses a fowl singeing system in- 21 A l. N 1 l 1 PP 0 06,110 Cllldll'lg first and second housings disposed m the path of fowl transported by a shackle system. A blast of ambient air is directed upon the fowl during passage [52] US. Cl. 17/20, 17/47,

263/3 through the first housing. A plurality of gas nozzles are A22 21/04 supported on opposite sides of the second housing and I51] Int.

are connected to a source of flammable gas in order to direct jets of flame therefrom upon ignition. A plurali- [58] Field of Search..........'.....l7/l l, 20, 47, 51, 44.1;

ty of gas nozzles are spaced apart along a line slanted to the horizontal wherein jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of each fowl transported through References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS the second housing. The ends of the gas jet noules are laterally spaced at varying distances from the second housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowls being transported therepast.

9 Clairm, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDuovza m2 3.703, 744

sum 1 OF 2 24 32 INVENTOR:

JANUS J. DILLON ATTORNEYS PATENTEDnuvzeusrz 3.703144 sum 2 OF 2 SUPPLY JANUS J. DILLON FIG. 4 v

ATTORNEYS FOWL SINGEING SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to fowl processing, and more particularly relates to a system for singeing fowl transported by a shackle system.

THE PRIOR ART In the processing of fowl such as chickens and the like, the fowl are conventionally hung by the feet from a shackle system and transported through subsequent scalding, picking and pinner stations. At this point in the processing, undesirable hair and feather remnants generally remain on the fowl carcasses, and it has thus been conventional to singe the fowl by applying a gas flame thereto. In singeing fowl systems heretofore developed, uneven singeing of portions of the fowl has sometimes resulted from the fact that the flame nozzles are disposed at varying distances from different portions of the fowl carcass. For instance, in such prior systems, a greater amount of flame has often been applied to front and back portions of the fowls body than has been applied to the neck and hock areas. Not only have prior systems produced uneven singeing, but such systems have often not been able to provide concentrated singeing required in the problem areas such as the neck and hock areas. Other previous singeing systems have also not been satisfactorily adjustable to accommodate fowl of various sizes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, pressurized air is initially directed against fowl transported by a shackle system. Flames are then evenly applied to the fowl from locations laterally staggered to generally conform to the shape of the body of the fowl.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a housing is disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackle system. A plurality of gas nozzles are supported on opposite sides of thehousing and are connectable to a source of flammable gas for directing jets of flame therefrom upon ignition. At least a portion of the gas nozzles are spaced apart along a line slanted to the horizontal, whereby jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of the fowl as the fowl is carried thereby. The ends of the gas nozzles are laterally spaced at varying distances from the housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowls being transported therepast.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a fowl singeing system includes two sets of flame emitting nozzles for disposition on opposite sides of a path along which fowl are transported by a shackel system. Each of the sets of nozzles includes a central portion wherein the nozzles are slanted with respect to the horizontal, whereby flames are sequentially directed upon different portions of the fowl as the fowl are transported along the path. Each of the sets further includes generally horizontally extending end portions on opposite ends of the central portion, whereby the flame emitting nozzles disposed along the end portions apply additional flame treatment to the neck and hock areas of the fowls.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for further objects and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present fowl singeing system, with the shackle transport system omitted for clarity of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the system shown, in FIG. 1, with the conventional fowl transporting shackle system being shown;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the singeing portion of the system shown in FIG. 1 with a fowl being treated thereby; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the system shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the present fowl singeing system is illustrated without the conventional shackle transport system for simplicity of illustration. The fowl transporting shackle system moves generally in the direction shown by the arrow 10 and the fowl pass first through an air blast station 20 comprising a pair of opposed shield walls 22 and 24. A high volume fan, not shown, picks up ambient room air and directs the air through ducts 26 and 28 into manifolds 30 and 32. A plurality of apertures 34 communicate with the manifolds 30 and 32 and are disposed through each of the shield walls along a line slanted to the horizontal. The pressurized air supplied through the ducts 26 and 28 is directed through the apertures 34 against the fowl being transported thereby to tend to make the unwanted hair upon the fowl stand out from the fowl carcasses. The blast of air provided by station 20 tends to provide some drying action and tends to release the hair from adhering to the skin due to small bubbles of water and other moisture.

The fowl are then transported to the singeing station 40, wherein the fowl are subjected to a soft yellow gas flame which burns the hair from the body of the fowl without substantially heating the fowl. The singeing station comprises a pair of opposed shield walls 42 and 44 spaced on opposite sides of the path of travel of the fowl in order to prevent exterior wind drafts from distorting the flames therein. A pair of gas inlet pipes 46 and 48 are adapted to be connected to a source of pressurized flammable gas and are respectively connected to a pair of pipes 50 and 52 secured to the interior sides of the shield walls 42 and 44. Each of the pipes 50 includes a plurality of nozzles 54 and 56 spaced therealong for emitting streams of gas. The gas from the nozzles 54 and 56 is ignited to provide singeing flames to the fowl.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the central portion of each of the pipes 50 and 52 is slanted with respect to the horizontal, with the preferred angle of slant being 45. The end portions of each of the pipes 50 and 52 are generally horizontal, so that additional flame treatment may be provided to the hock and neck portions of the fowl being transported thereby.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the present system, wherein a plurality of conventional shackles 60 are translated along an overhead conveyor I-beam 62 in the conventional manner. Fowls F are hung from the shackles in the conventional manner and moved through the system in the direction of the arrow 10. The slanting of the manifold 32 and apertures 34 directs pressurized air against the majority of the body of the fowl during passage through the station 20. It may also be seen that the neck portion of the fowl initially comes into contact with the generally horizontal lower end portion of the pipes 50 and 52 and are subjected to flame treatment. The fowl are then transported past the central inclined portion of the pipes 50 and 52, wherein additional portions of the body of the fowl are sequentially subjected to flame treatment due to the upward slant of the pipes 50 and 52. The hock portions of the fowls are finally subjected to flame treatment by the generally horizontal upper end of the pipes 50 and 52.

FIG. 3 illustrates the staggered configuration of the gas nozzles of the invention in order to provide a uniform flame treatment to the fowl being transported through the system. For example, nozzle 54a extends for some length from the shield wall 42, while the corresponding nozzle 56a has a somewhat shorter length of extension from the shield wall 44. Similarly, the nozzle 54b has a much greater length than does nozzle 56b, due to the rearward extension of the tail portion of the fowl F. Likewise, the effective lengths of these remaining nozzles 54c-i are staggered in general correspondence with the configuration of the front portion of the fowl F, while the effective lengths of the nozzles 56c-i are staggered in general correspondence with the shape of the back portion of the fowl F. The fowl are maintained in this configuration through station 40 by guide bars, not shown.

In the manner shown in FIG. 3, the end of each of the gas nozzles is spaced substantially at a constant distance from the fowl during movement of the fowl through the singeing station 40, thereby insuring even application of the flame to the fowl. Also, the provision of a plurality of generally horizontal extending jet nozzles at the upper portion of the pipes 50 and 52 provides additional heat treatment to the hock portion of the fowl, while the provision of a plurality of generally horizontal extending nozzles at the lower portion of pipes 50 and 52 provides additional flame treatment to the neck portion of the fowl.

Flammable gas mixture is applied to each of the pipes 50 and 52 via a premix blower 70 which premixes gas from the gas supply and applies the premixed gas to the pipes 46 and 48. When a sufficiently high pressure exists in the gas supply line, the unit will operate utilizing only this high pressure, or if desired, a premix blower may be used by reducing input pressure. This allows lower gas consumption and better combustion, but the system must be carefully regulated to reduce heat applied to few] as premixed air and gas burns with a hot flame. If extremely low gas pressure is required for use with the invention, a premix blower may be used if desired. Each of the pipes 50 and 52 are mounted in their respective shield walls on rotatable support bearings 72 and 74. Thus, if different size fowl are required to be singed by the system, the pipes 50 and 52 may be rotated to increase or decrease the ef fective singeing area. This feature of the invention enables adjustment to accommodate fowls of various kinds, while still providing excellent singeing action thereto.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the present system, with the direction of the path of travel of the fowl being indicated by the dotted line 80. The fowl, as shown, are initially transported through the air blast station 20, wherein some drying action is provided as previously described. The fowl are then transported through the singeing station 40, wherein essentially uniform application of a soft flame is provided. FIG. 4 illustrates the varying effective lengths of the gas nozzles 54a-i and 56a-i in order to provide the essentially uniform application of the flames.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides excellent singeing action for the processing of fowl, without attendant problems of oversingeing parts of the fowl. At the same time, problem areas such as the neck area and hock area of the fowl are provided with additional flame treatment. The slanting burner configuration of the system enables a very uniform and accurate flame pattern to be provided, as the heat generated from adjacent burners tends to rise and thus does not deflect the flame from the adjacent burners. In systems utilizing burners vertically disposed, heat from lower burners often tends to deflect flames from the upper burners, thereby providing a nonuniform flame distribution.

Whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended to encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A fowl singeing system comprising:

a housing for being disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackle system,

gas supply members disposed on opposite sides of said housing and each rotatable about a central point, said supply members being connectable to a source of flammable gas,

a plurality of gas nozzles disposed along said supply members for directing jets of flame therefrom upon ignition,

at least a portion of said gas nozzles being spaced apart along a gas supply member slanted to the horizontal wherein said jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of a fowl as the fowl is carried thereby, and

the ends of said gas nozzles being laterally spaced at varying distances from said housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being transported therepast.

2. The fowl singeing system of claim 1 wherein a central portion of said gas nozzles are spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal and end portions of said gas nozzles are spaced along generally horizontal lines to provide additional flame treatment to the neck and hock portions of the fowl.

3. In a system for singeing fowl, the combination comprising:

blower means for picking up ambient air and for directing said air through a duct,

shield means disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of the fowl,

said duct communicating with a plurality of apertures through said shield means to direct pressurized air upon the fowl, said apertures being spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal, and

means for applying flames to the fowl from locations laterally staggered to generally conform to the shape of the body of the fowl.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said flame applying means comprises:

a plurality of gas nozzles on opposed sides of the path of travel of the fowl,

a central portion of said nozzles being spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal and end portions of said nozzles beingspaced along generally horizontal lines,

said nozzles extending laterally for different lengths in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being transported thereby.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said nozzles on one side of the path of travel of the fowl laterally extend in accordance with the shape of the front of the fowl, and

wherein said nozzles on the other side of the path of travel laterally extend in accordance with the back of the fowl, whereby flame is applied to the front and back of the fowl from generally constant distances.

6. A fowl singeing system comprising:

two sets of flame emitting nozzles for being disposed on opposite sides of a path along which fowl are transported by a shackle system,

each said set including a central portion wherein said nozzles are slanted with respect to the horizontal, whereby flames are sequentially directed upon different portions of the fowl as the fowl are transported along said path,

each said set further including generally horizontally extending end portions on opposite ends of said central portion, whereby the flame emitting nozzles disposed along said end portions apply additional flame treatment to the neck and hock portions of the fowl, and

means for rotating each of said sets about a central region to thereby accommodate varying sizes of fowl.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said nozzles are slanted approximately 45 to the horizontal at said central portion.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein said nozzles in said central portion slope from a low position which initially directs flames upon the fowl to an upper position.

9. A fowl singeing system comprising:

a housing for being disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackel system,

a plurality of gas nozzles supported on opposite sides of said housing and connectable to a source of flammable gas for directing jets of flame therefrom upon ignition,

at least a portion of said gas nozzles being spaced apart along a line slanted to the horizontal wherein said jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of a fowl as the fowl is carried thereby,

the ends of said gas nozzles being laterally spaced at varying distances from said housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being trans orted therepast, and means or applying pressurized air against the fowl prior to entry into said housing. 

1. A fowl singeing system comprising: a housing for being disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackle system, gas supply members disposed on opposite sides of said housing and each rotatable about a central point, said supply members being connectable to a source of flammable gas, a plurality of gas nozzles disposed along said supply members for directing jets of flame therefrom upon ignition, at least a portion of said gas nozzles being spaced apart along a gas supply member slanted to the horizontal wherein said jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of a fowl as the fowl is carried thereby, and the ends of said gas nozzles being laterally spaced at varying distances from said housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being transported therepast.
 2. The fowl singeing system of claim 1 wherein a central portion of said gas nozzles are spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal and end portions of said gas nozzles are spaced along generally horizontal lines to provide additional flame treatment to the neck and hock portions of the fowl.
 3. In a system for singeing fowl, the combination comprising: blower means for picking up ambient air and for directing said air through a duct, shield means disposed on opposite sides of the path of travel of the fowl, said duct communicating with a plurality of apertures through said shield means to direct pressurized air upon the fowl, said apertures being spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal, and means for applying flames to the fowl from locations laterally staggered to generally conform to the shape of the body of the fowl.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said flame applying means comprises: a plurality of gas nozzles on opposed sides of the path of travel of the fowl, a central portion of said nozzles being spaced along a line slanted to the horizontal and end portions of said nozzles being spaced along generally horizontal lines, said nozzles extending laterally for different lengths in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being transported thereby.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said nozzles on one side of the path of travel of the fowl laterally extend in accordance with the shape of the front of the fowl, and wherein said nozzles on the other side of the path of travel laterally extend in accordance with the back of the fowl, whereby flame is applied to the front and back of the fowl from generally constant distances.
 6. A fowl singeing system comprising: two sets of flame emitting nozzles for being disposed on opposite sides of a path along which fowl are transported by a shackle system, each said set including a central portion wherein said nozzles are slanted with respect to the horizontal, whereby flames are sequentially directed upon different portions of the fowl as the fowl are transported along said path, each said set further including generally horizontally extending end portions on opposite ends of said central portion, whereby the flame emitting nozzles disposed along said end portions apply additional flame treatment to the neck and hock portions of the fowl, and means for rotating each of said sets about a central region to thereby accommodate varying sizes of fowl.
 7. The system of Claim 6 wherein said nozzles are slanted approximately 45* to the horizontal at said central portion.
 8. The system of claim 6 wherein said nozzles in said central portion slope from a low position which initially directs flames upon the fowl to an upper position.
 9. A fowl singeing system comprising: a housing for being disposed in the path of fowl transported by a shackel system, a plurality of gas nozzles supported on opposite sides of said housing and connectable to a source of flammable gas for directing jets of flame therefrom upon ignition, at least a portion of said gas nozzles being spaced apart along a line slanted to the horizontal wherein said jets of flame cover substantially the entire body of a fowl as the fowl is carried thereby, the ends of said gas nozzles being laterally spaced at varying distances from said housing in general correspondence with the shape of the fowl being transported therepast, and means for applying pressurized air against the fowl prior to entry into said housing. 